UH keeps lofty goals intact by defying long odds

UH's Kyle Postma avoids a sack by Memphis' Wynton McManis on a night of escapes at TDECU Stadium.

UH's Kyle Postma avoids a sack by Memphis' Wynton McManis on a night of escapes at TDECU Stadium.

Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Staff

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UH's Greg Ward Jr., right, had enough spring in his step to celebrate Memphis' missed field goal in the final minute.

UH's Greg Ward Jr., right, had enough spring in his step to celebrate Memphis' missed field goal in the final minute.

Photo: Jon Shapley, Staff

UH keeps lofty goals intact by defying long odds

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Somewhere on the planet, an ESPN computer did the number crunching and gave the University of Houston a 2.7 percent chance of winning when down 20 points to Memphis in the fourth quarter Saturday night.

"As long as there is .0000000001 percent chance, we're going to play - and there was," coach Tom Herman said of the Cougars' 35-34 comeback victory over Memphis.

"We just go out and handle our business, don't worry about the scoreboard, and usually good things have happened to us."

The latest "good thing'"came in stunning fashion against Memphis. After trailing 34-14, the Cougars took the lead on a 7-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Kyle Postma with 1:27 remaining and sealed the game when Memphis kicker Jake Elliott missed wide right on a 48-yard field-goal attempt in the closing minute.

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According to ESPN's Brett McMurphy, 282 teams have trailed by at least 20 points in the fourth quarter this season.

UH is the only one to win.

For the 10-0 Cougars, Saturday's win - against all odds after quarterback/Heisman Trophy candidate Greg Ward Jr. was lost to an ankle injury before halftime - is the type that can define a season and catapult a team to even loftier heights.

"We're just playing," said Herman, who became the fifth coach in NCAA history to start a career with 10 wins. "We're going to play until the ref tells us we have to stop. They didn't tell us to stop until we had the lead, so we were fortunate."

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The Cougars remained in a tie for first place in the American Athletic Conference West Division with Navy, with the teams scheduled to meet in a winner-take-all showdown Nov. 27 at TDECU Stadium in the regular-season finale.

UH, which climbed to No. 13 in the Associated Press poll Sunday, is one of five remaining undefeated teams in the nation and joins Navy as the frontrunners for the so-called Group of Five spot in a New Year's Six bowl.

While the Memphis comeback was impressive, Herman said the Cougars' defining moment came in Week 2 - a 34-31 road victory against ACC opponent Louisville.

"Honestly, I think it was the Louisville game way back when," Herman said. "For us to go on the road and beat a team that the No. 1 team in the nation (Clemson) went in and beat them by the same margin of victory … kind of proved to us that in a fourth-quarter game our training would bring us through."

UH has rarely been tested this season, with most games comfortably decided by the fourth quarter. But the last two games have come down to the wire. The Cougars held on in the final minute to beat Cincinnati 33-30 and overcame an inept early offense and the loss of Ward for the third-largest comeback in school history.

Herman presented the game ball to his strength and conditioning staff after Saturday's win.

"I think (our training) carried over, and you saw it again in the Cincinnati game, and you saw it again Saturday night," Herman said. "It adds a ton of credence and validity to what we are doing."

Wide receiver Chance Allen said the Louisville win was "the turning point" of the season. He said the close calls in back-to-back games also have served as a lesson.

"We know how to face adversity," Allen said. "That's what we learned."

After the Cougars had a touchdown wiped out by penalty and failed on a fourth-and-goal from the Memphis 5, linebacker Elandon Roberts made a season-saving interception to set up the touchdown that pulled UH within 34-28 with about six minutes remaining.

It would lead to a dramatic finish that proved at least one computer wrong.

"I'll put it like this," said Roberts. "Sometimes technology ain't always the way to go."